Australians woke up on Friday to find Apple had increased prices on iPads and MacBooks by at least 20%, citing an AI-driven cost crunch for computer parts. The iPad now starts at $749, up from $599, while the iPad Mini rose to $949 from $799. The MacBook Air 13-inch jumped to $2,099 from $1,799, and the MacBook Pro 14-inch now starts at $3,199, up from $2,999. The smaller MacBook Neo, launched in March at $899, now starts at $1,049. Apple had called the Neo its “most affordable laptop ever.”
Price Increases Across Apple's Lineup
The iPad Air now costs $1,249, up from $999, and the iPad Pro starts at $1,999, up from $1,699. The iMac desktop now starts at $2,399, and the Mac Studio at $4,299. The iPhone range was unaffected, but experts predict Apple will raise prices for its flagship product later this year. Apple’s share price fell 6.15% on Thursday, wiping US$250 billion from its market value to close at US$4 trillion.
Retailers Yet to Pass On Increases
Australian retailers have yet to pass on the price increase. Officeworks’ prices were unchanged on Friday morning. “We regularly review our pricing to ensure we continue delivering great value, and we’re currently working through Apple’s recent pricing changes,” an Officeworks spokesperson said. JB Hi-Fi promoted Apple deals at the top of its website on Friday, with sales on the MacBook Air 13-inch at $1,597, MacBook Pro 14-inch at $2,797, and the iPad at $495.
Industry-Wide Cost Pressures
JB Hi-Fi’s chief executive, Nick Wells, told analysts in February that rising demand for computer chips as the world rapidly increases computing power and AI usage has pushed up device costs. He warned that the cost crunch was resulting in 20% price rises for PCs and that phones were vulnerable to the same hikes. In February, Wells said iPhones could be hit from September, when the iPhone 18 models are released.
Apple said it has been absorbing rising computer part costs but had now reached a point where it had to raise prices. “We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly,” Apple said in a statement.
Microsoft Also Raises Prices
Microsoft on Thursday also announced it would lift Xbox console prices by US$100 (A$145) for 512GB models and US$150 (A$218) for 1TB models, and cease selling the 2TB model. In a statement, the company said storage and memory prices had nearly tripled and were set to double again by late 2027. “We hoped another price increase would not be necessary, and we have spent the last several months working with suppliers on options,” Microsoft said.
Memory Shortage Dubbed 'RAMageddon'
Datacentres use significant quantities of memory chips, and booming development has led to a shortage dubbed the “RAMageddon.” An International Data Corporation analyst, Soo Kyoum Kim, warned in a note on Monday that the shortage was permanently rewriting the economics of consumer device production. “The real question is whether the product economics of affordable devices can be rebuilt around structurally higher memory costs, or whether product mix and [prices] shift permanently upward,” Kim said.
